“Why don’t we start with the easy stuff—I’m Shane,” he says.
I just continue to glare at him. The women around me are ominously silent, although I can hear one of them making soft noises, like she’s trying to stop herself from crying.
When the silence stretches on for too long, Shane flashes me an easy smile, showing off that silver tooth.
“Now don’t be rude,” he says. “Introduce yourself.”
Well, now that I know that manners mean so much to him …
I spit at his face.
He’s fast—I’ll give him that. I don’t see his hand move before the back of it connects with my cheek.
Smack.
My head snaps to the side, my skin throbbing. My already pounding head feels like it’s going to explode from the pain and pressure.
“We don’t let our cunts act out here,” he says conversationally. “Unless, of course, that’s the sort of thing we’re into.” The man behind him laughs.
I work my jaw as I glare at both of them, my cheek on fire.
“So, tell me,” he continues, squinting as he sizes me up, “how is it that a woman like you comes to be with a horseman of the apocalypse?”
He knows who Thanatos is?
Shane must see something on my face because he says, “I wouldn’t have believed it myself if I hadn’t seen those wings with my own eyes.”
My pulse pounds between my ears. What have these people done with my horseman?
“But that still doesn’t answer my question,” Shane continues.
I give him an unfriendly smile. “You can die confused.”
Smack.
My head whips to the side as he strikes me again. I have to bite back a cry.
“Do you know how many men it took to bind you up?”
I stare at him passively.
He leans in conspiratorially. “Five.” He shakes his head. “I wasted five good men to capture you.”
It takes me a moment to realize that he means five men died in their attempt to capture me. I remember how last night some of my attackers had fallen away right after they grabbed me by my forearms … forearms that were coated in the horseman’s blood. My eyes widen.
Even Death’s blood is lethal.
“So,” Shane continues, “you will answer my questions, starting with how it is that you can touch that creature and live.” His eyes flick over me again, and I can see him asking himself, who are you?
I already know I don’t look particularly special.
I lift a shoulder in response to his question. “I don’t know how—or why. I just can.”
“Is he really dead?” Shane presses.
“Who?” I ask. “Your men? Yeah, they really fucking are—”
Smack.
This slap is lighter than the others, but I still taste blood in my mouth as my teeth cut my cheek.
“Don’t act stupid, girl,” Shane says. “The horseman. Is he dead?”
I scowl at him. “Of course he’s dead,” I respond hotly. “He had an arrow through his face.”
“An arrow that later came out all on its own,” he says, watching me carefully.
I try not to react, though I feel alarmed.
“He can regenerate, can’t he?” Shane presses.
Around us, the heavyset man and captive women have all gone quiet, listening in to our conversation.
“Until you untie me, I won’t tell you a damn—”
Crack!
I cry out as the man backhands me with his full weight behind him, the hit snapping my head to the side. I have to grit my teeth as I ride out the throbbing pain. The skin around my eye is starting to swell, and the pounding in my head is making me queasy.
“You’re not in a position to make demands, sugar,” Shane says. “Now, you can either cooperate, or I can make you cooperate. The choice is yours.”
I raise my eyes to his, letting him see just how little fear is on my face. Then, without meaning to, I crack a smile, and a little laugh slips out. Around us, it’s ungodly quiet.
“Do you really think you frighten me?” I say. “I have seen entire cities fall and everyone I love die. I have been hurt more times than I can count, and I’ve been forced to live through it all. I have met the devil and he really is a fallen angel. So go fuck yourself, your threats don’t scare—”
Shane slams his fist into my face, and I black out.
When I wake again, I’ve been untied from the post, though my hands are still bound behind my back. Two men are each gripping me by my upper arms and hauling me forward, my feet dragging against the ground. My loose hair dangles around my head, and I can see droplets of blood dripping from my aching nose onto the dirt.